We ask that you have your infant baptized as soon as possible after birth. The Church defines an infant as one who has not yet reached the age of reason, usually under the age of 7. To schedule your child's baptism, please contact the parish secretary at your church. For St. Cecilia, Barb Browarsky at (513) 871-5757 ext. 202. For St. Anthony, Mary Ann Bressler at (513) 271-0920 ext. 10. For St. Margaret-St. John, Mary Mathers at (513) 271-0856.

After calling your parish secretary to schedule your child's baptism, you must register and attend the Parent Baptismal Preparation Class. Baptism preparation is held regionally once a month in the St. Cecilia Commons (found at the lower level of the St. Cecilia School) at 12:00 PM. Please see the registration dates below to find a class that works for your schedule. Please fill out the digital form below to register for one of the Baptism preparation classes. Please remember, you must be a registered parishioner at one of the three parishes listed above to have your child baptized. If you do not belong to one of the parishes, we are open to baptizing your child with your pastor's permission.

Baptism is the first sacrament of initiation. It is necessary to receive Baptism because of original sin. All persons inherit original sin due to the fall of Adam and Eve. Original sin is the interior disposition by which we are separated from a proper relationship with God. It is an emptiness within us. The sacrament of Baptism restores us to a right relationship with God by giving us access to the reconciliation and new life that Jesus Christ offers us through his death and resurrection. We are thus incorporated through Baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Baptism brings us into the community of the Church by making us adopted sons and daughters of God through an indelible seal on our soul. The sacrament also makes us sharers in Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and king. We are called by the Lord to live the grace of our Baptism through offering sacrifices to God, bearing witness to the love of God, and being good stewards of God's creation.

The negative effects of original sin remain with us throughout life. The effects are ignorance, suffering, concupiscence, and death. Concupiscence is the inclination towards sin that everyone experiences during life and must struggle to overcome on a daily basis by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

As we persevere in our efforts to respond rightly to the grace of God, we are assisted by the three theological virtues infused into our soul through Baptism. The three virtues are faith, hope, and charity. Faith is the gift that allows us to believe and proclaim all that Jesus Christ said and did for our salvation. Hope is the gift that allows us to desire eternal life in heaven as our true happiness and grants us a confident expectation in the guidance and assistance of God throughout our life on earth. Charity is the gift that allows us to love God above all things and to love others through recognizing their dignity as persons made in the image of God.